Misconnections
by Moonlite Knight
Summary: When Kaito turns up one day with an unexplainable bullet wound that he makes Aoko promise to keep her mouth shut about, she fears someone is out to kill him. So, in desperation, she turns to whom else but the famous Sleeping Kogoro to protect him.
1. Chapter 1: Aspiring Aid

_**Points to note: This is a DC and MK crossover. It's also my first DC or MK fic, so please kindly point out any OOCness and I'll work on it ^^ **_

_**Question: In which cities do DC and MK take place? I've been searching for hours and I can't find out. So, I'm giving up and asking for help DX**_

_Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito._

**Misconnections**

Chapter 1: Awakening Aid

Aoko Nakamori was the worst best friend anyone could possibly have. One could search all of Japan and they would not find anyone worse. Heck, one could search the entire world and they would still not find anyone worse than her.

Because a real best friend was always there. A real best friend was confident to every single deep, dark secret. A real best friend would notice that their friend was in trouble. A real best friend would not be so naively oblivious about everything until their best friend was nearly _killed. _

Okay, that was probably a tad overdramatic, but Aoko still felt liked the most stupid, idiotic, and lowest individual in the world.

How could she not have noticed something was wrong? All of the signs had been there; the random disappearances, the frequent lateness, the half-truths. She had been given all of the pieces of the puzzle. She had just needed to put them together. As the daughter of a police chief, it should have been easy for her to do so. But she hadn't even tried.

And Kaito hadn't said a thing.

Knowing him, he probably never would have said a thing. Kaito had always had a slight overprotective streak when it came to her. She couldn't even begin to count the number of times that he had tried to fight her battles for her as children. Not that she needed him to defend her, but Kaito had done it anyway. It had annoyed her then, and it sure as hell annoyed her now, but he had continued to protect her and keep secrets. Big secrets.

She couldn't claim to have been entirely oblivious to Katio's changing behavior though, she had noticed that he had been avoiding her more often than he did before, and that he often disappeared at night and refused to tell her where he was. But she had simply concluded that he had been doing boy things.

They were best friends, together since childhood, but they were still teenage boy and girl. Of course there would be some things that they would be too embarrassed to confide in each other. She sure would never choose to go to Kaito with girl issues, and she didn't expect him, or want him truthfully, to come to her with boy stuff. It stood to reason that there would gaps in their knowledge of each other.

But she had never expected there to be such a huge gap.

Aoko sighed and leaned back on her couch. The television was switched on to some news station, but she wasn't paying much attention to it. She'd only turned it on because the silence had been driving her, and her thoughts, crazy. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, replaying, for the umpteenth time, her visit to the Kuroba household just hours before.

It was hard to believe that one visit, one unannounced visit, to Kaito's house one normal Saturday morning changed everything.

But she was glad that she hadn't called ahead. Because if she had, she was willing to bet she would never have realized what was going on in her childhood friend's life. She would never have realized that someone was trying to kill him.

When she had burst into his room, without knocking, she had been excepting him to be fast asleep in bed, like how most normal teenage boys would be that early in the morning. She had been looking forward to shocking him awake; she had even brought her trustworthy mop with her to aid her with her noble deed. But, the last thing that she had excepted was to find him sitting, shirtless, in front of his mirror, trying to bandage his right shoulder. His right shoulder which bore an unmistakable bullet wound.

There had been no denying it; someone had shot her best friend, her Kaito.

He, of course, had tried to deny it, telling her that he had just injured himself practicing a new trick. But she was the daughter of a policeman who risked his life every time single day on the job. She _knew_ what a bullet wound looked like; her father had been shot a few times, and she had taken care of him while he covered. The shape of the wound, the amount of dried blood, the position of the wound; everything told her clearly that it had been caused by a bullet.

And the scariest part was that if it had been just an inch lower or just an inch to the left, Kaito wouldn't be sitting there, trying to convince her nothing was wrong.

She could scarily believe that he had been alive _then_. Kaito had been so deathly pale as he stared at her with wide startled eyes that she had been sure he would faint any second now. But he hadn't given any indication of being in pain at all. If it weren't for the fact that she could see wound and his shallow skin, she would have thought that he was perfectly healthy. It was clear from the fact that he was still alive and moving, that someone, most likely a doctor, had already removed the bullet and treated the wound, but that fact that it was _there_ and she had had no idea terrified her.

And it made her wonder about just how well she truly knew her friend. Not very well, she realized when one considered the fact that that she had been so unaware of the bullet wound.

The wound that Kaito had refused to tell her anything about. He had been forced to admit that he had been shot, but he refused to tell her why or how. She had even threatened to wallop him with her mop, and he still kept mute.

Which told her that she either needed to find a new method of intimidation, or Kaito was involved with something so dangerous that he wasn't going to risk letting her get any more involved than she already was. He hadn't even told a half lie or played a prank to get her off his back; that fact alone showed her the severity of his situation.

Kaito was in trouble. And she needed to do something about it.

But what?

She groaned and burrowed deeper into the sofa. There wasn't much that she _could_ do, thanks to that stupid promise.

Once Kaito realized that there was no way that he could convince her that nothing was wrong, and that she was not going to pretend that she hadn't seen anything, he had sworn her to secrecy. She was not allowed to tell anyone, particularly not her father, about the wound. His mother knew, and now Aoko did, but no one else could. She had argued, and threatened, and refused, but in the end, she had agreed.

And regretted it ever since.

If only she hadn't promised, she would go to her father and have him set a guard twenty-four seven on Kaito. Or, better yet, find the people who'd shot Kaito and throw them in jail. But she couldn't.

Maybe Saguru Hakuba from class? He was detective right? Surely there was something that he could do to help. Unfortunately though, he fell under the 'don't tell' category. But there had to be some loophole, _something_ that she could do.

"_Don't tell your pops, or any of the police or detectives here."_

There had to be something she could do. Something…But she couldn't think what.

Exasperated, she threw out a hand on the couch, accidently hitting the volume button of the remote. The volume shot up, the sudden shouting of some murder case startling her out of her thoughts. She fumbled for the remote for a moment before finally capturing it. She aimed it at the television, prepared to hit mute when a phase caught her attention.

"—ori, the greatest detective in all of Japan is here with us here today!" The blond reporter shouted before the screen switched to show a middle-aged, rather dim looking, man.

Curiosity piqued, Aoko lowered the volume to bearable level and continued listening.

"Oh, I wouldn't say greatest," the detective laughed modestly, while laughing loudly.

"Don't be so modest, Kogoro Mori-san" the reporter said smiling. "No one else has solved as many murder cases as you! Some that even baffled the police! You have every right to brag!"

"Well, can't argue with that," Mori agreed happily.

Aoko couldn't help but roll her eyes. That detective was anything but modest. He made her want to change the channel, but what the reporter had said kept to listening.

"Why don't you tell us how you solved the Fugukara murder?" The reporter asked eagerly.

As Aoko watched, Mori rubbed the back of his head and answered with a rather embarrassed laugh. "Well, you know, after each investigation, I have this irresistible need to sleep so…I really don't remember anything!"

"As expected of Sleeping Mori-san!" The reporter gushed.

Aoko's eyebrows shot up. _This_ was the renowned Sleeping Mori? Her father had mentioned him several times to her before, and she's heard his name just about everywhere for the past several months. Though he really didn't look like it, Mori was a brilliant detective. A detective who lived in Tokyo.

The reporter was now listing the past accomplishments of Sleeping Mori, but Aoko was only listening with half an ear. Most of her attention was focused on the idea that was slowly forming in her mind.

Kaito was in trouble and he really needed help, but she had promised to not inform anyone in who was able to help. Anyone _here_. And technically, Kogoro Mori didn't live here. And the detective had solved every case that had come his way for the past several months, whether they were murder cases or not.

A smile worked its way to her lips as she reached a decision.

She needed to pay Sleeping Mori-san a visit.

_**Feedback would be much appreciated, thanks! ^^**_


	2. Chapter 2: Optimistic Endeavors

_**Question: Mouri smokes right? I'm almost positive he does…maybe.**_

_Disclaimer: Zoom, poof, bam! I own nothing! _

Chapter 2: Optimistic Endeavors

Aoko let out a sigh of relief as she stepped outside of the school gates.

The day thus far had been horrific at best. She had assumed that things would be a bit strained between her and Kaito now that she knew about the bullet wound, but she really had not anticipated a day as bad as this. If Kaito hadn't acted like a wounded puppy when she finally turned on him with her mop, she would have suspected that he was purposely torturing her for discovering his secret.

She glanced behind her as she began the walk to the bus stop, checking to make sure that she wasn't being followed. The chief thing that had made her day so awful was Kaito's newly developed, annoying habit of popping up at the most random times; it was almost like having her own personal stalker that she'd known for years. Particularly, whenever Saguru Hakuba happened to be in the room. Kaito always managed to find a way to ensure that they did not have the slightest chance to interact. It was as annoying as anything.

Did he really believe that she would go blurting out his secret to the entire class if he left her alone for one minute? Aoko felt a bit indignant at that. She had promised, hadn't she? Didn't Kaito trust her at all? She wasn't going to tell anyone!

Well, anyone other than Sleeping Kogoro. And even that was for Kaito's own good! She stubbornly pushed back the guilt that had been threatening to pop up ever since she made her decision. She _wasn't_ breaking her promise. Kaito had said not to tell anyone _here _about the wound. Technically, Sleeping Kogoro wasn't _here. _Because, technically, Kaito had neglected to specify where _here_ was. So technically, she wasn't doing anything wrong. And technically, she should stop feeling like such a jerk.

Aoko scowled and kicked a pebble that was in her way, causing it to shoot through the air, ricochet off a lamppost, and shot past the ear of a very startled squirrel. Unaware of the trauma that she had just cause a poor innocent creature simply searching for some food, Aoko continued walking, wishing all the way that she had her mop with her. She really needed to burn off some of her negative energy.

But she had left it at school, safely tucked away in the janitor's closet. She needed to make a good first impression at the detective's, and somehow, she doubted that bringing a mop with her would make them see her in a more favorable light. It was more likely to suggest to Kogoro-san that she was missing a few marbles, thus making it difficult for her to acquire his help.

And she had a very bad feeling that she would need all the help that she could get. Money wasn't the issue, no, Aoko had quite a bit saved up; she could easily afford to hire the detective. The issue was that Kogoro-san might not believe her. She wasn't naive, well not that much. She was well aware of how impracticable her tale was, especially when she had no proof. The fact that she was a teenager would probably not help out much either. Her father was always grumbling about how many prank calls the station would get from teens who just wanted some attention.

Well, she supposed that she could mention who her father was, but that felt like cheating somehow. And what if Kogoro-san wanted to know why she hadn't told him in the first place and then decided to tell him himself? Kaito would hate her forever.

She groaned and hit her head on the bus stop pole, ignoring the looks the other pedestrians gave her. She was thinking about this too much, she decided as the bus pulled up. She should just suck it up and appeal to Kogoro-san. If he didn't believe her, then she would just have to make him believe. She took her seat with a determined look on her face. Yes, that was what she would do. She would not leave until Sleeping Kogoro-san agreed to help her.

She spent the rest of the ride trying not to talk herself out of her resolve.

Before she knew it, she was in front of a two-story building, staring at the sign that identified it as the agency of the renowned Kogoro-san. And staring. And staring. Just staring.

The guilt was back, full force, as was the nervousness. She just had to walk up the stairs, knock on the door, and convince Kogoro-san to help Kaito. Easy, just take one step. She could do it. She could break a promise her most important person. Simple. Right. Just up the stairs….

"Is something wrong, Nee-san?"

*~~ͽThere is one chibified detective. There is one Moonlight Conjurer. There is one truth.ͼ~~*

Conan Edogawa, once upon a time known as Shinichi Kudo, had not had a very good day at school. But his bad day was not composed of reasons that most would expect one of his physical age to have. The day hadn't been horrible because of bullies or lost homework or strict teachers. No, his terrible day was born from the fact that school was so dang _boring_.

First grade had been bad enough the first time around, but the second time…

He sent a half wave to the Detective Boys as they parted ways, the later chatting happily about some cartoon special that was to air that evening. He sighed and continued his walk to Ran's home. He hadn't even had Haibara Ai's presence to console him of the fact that he wasn't the only one dying of boredom as the girl had failed to show up to class. He made a mental note to go and check on her later. Hopefully, she had found a lead on the organization and that was why she had skipped.

Because if she had simply decided to play hooky, then he was going to…

Thoughts of revenge flew out his head when he saw Ran standing in front of her home, staring up at her father's sign. Worry immediately reared its ugly head, and he speed up a bit. Why was Ran standing just standing there? Why wasn't she going in? Had the Black Organization found him out?

Then Ran turned her head a bit towards him, and he saw that it was, in fact, not his childhood friend. The girl standing there looked remarkably like Ran, but, at the same time, obviously was not her. She had the same hairstyle as Ran, which was the main reason he had mistaken her in the first place. But now that he was not jumping at shadows, he saw that she was wearing a uniform from that school on the other side of town, not the school that Ran attended.

Which left the question why the girl had come here, clear across town, right after school, without bothering to change clothes? The girl took a step forward, towards the stairs to Mouri's office and stopped. She bit her lips, fiddled with her schoolbag, and then took another step forward. Geez, what was wrong with this girl? She had the same expression as a suspect about to reveal information vital to the case, but harmful to themselves. Might as well help her make up her mind.

Conan put on his most innocent, childlike face, and walked up to her side. "Is something wrong Nee-san?"

The girl half jumped out of her skin at the question. She whipped her head around from side to side, searching for the speaker, before looking down and spotting him. Man, he really hated his height.

"Oh, ah, it's nothing," the girl said, pasting a smile that did little to hide the worry on her face. "I was just, ah, admiring the view."

Riiight. And he had a monkey for an uncle. Wait, actually, as Conan, he did. Never mind.

The girl seemed to realize that she had said a rather idiotic thing, judging by her embarrassed laugh. "Haha, sorry. I was just…looking to the office of Sleeping Kogoro-san."

Bingo. Beaming up at her with as much innocence as he could stomach, Conan said, "Wow, you're lucky then! Uncle Mouri's office is right there!"

"Oh, um, that's nice." She replied, looking a bit thrown by his smile.

"Do you need to ask Uncle for help? He's home right now!" Conan began to move towards the stairs and mentioned for the girl to follow. "Come on Nee-san, this way!"

Looking as if she really wanted to run away, but not wanting to hurt a little boy's feelings, the girl began to hesitantly move after him. Conan dropped his childlike façade as soon as his back was to the highschooler. The girl was definitely worried about something big, she wasn't here because of a lost pet or something. So, what could possibly worry a highschool girl?

Lost in thought, he stopped in front of the closed door, leaving his companion to ring the doorbell. Perhaps this was another kidnapping case like the one with his 'girlfriend'? He really hoped it wasn't anything like that case, Ran might very well kill Shinichi this time before he had chance to defend himself.

He was too busy running over possible scenarios to notice the surprised look the girl gave his sudden silence.

"Really Dad, can't you even open the door by yourself?"

Conan looked up in time to see the door open and reveal an exasperated Ran and, just barely visible, the back of Mouri's head seated in front the television.

"Welcome home Conan!" Ran smiled at him before noticing the girl hovering a few feet behind him. "Oh, hello."

"Hi Ran nee-chan," Conan chirped brightly, walking past her, into the apartment. "This Nee-chan wants to ask Uncle for help!"

"I'm busy, tell her to come back later." Mouri called back in what Conan assumed was meant to be a whisper. It wasn't one.

"I won't take up too much of your time," the girl spoke up suddenly, in a clear, confident tone. "Please, just at least hear me out."

Conan studied her from the corner of his eye as he dropped his bag by the couch, where it would be safely out of the way. All of her hesitation appeared to have vanished, he noted, taking in her stubborn expression. She almost looked like Ran when she was trying to force him to do something he didn't want to, but she wasn't nearly scary enough.

"I'm off work," Mouri said, carelessly waving a hand at the door in an attempt to shoo them away. "Come back tomorrow."

"But," The girl protested, biting her lip. "I can't. Please, at least listen."

"Of course he will," Ran interjected, with a smile as she motioned for the girl to come in. "Right, dad?"

Mouri froze in the act of reaching for some popcorn as the weight of his daughter's glare attempted to crush him. He held out for five second longer than Conan would have expected. "Yeah, yeah, alright." He grumbled. "I'll just tape this for later.

He finally turned around and blinked as he caught his would-be-client for the first time. He turned his head towards his daughter and then to the girl, and back, a bemused look fixed upon his face. "Right…"

Sending her father another glare, and apologizing on his lack of manners, Ran guided the girl to the office table, where a few of the cases Mouri solved were discussed. The rest, he usually stumbled upon with the freeloader elementary kid in tow.

"So, what is it?" Mouri asked, once he took his seat. He rested his cheek on one propped arm, a borderline bored look on his face. It was obvious to Conan that the detective was not taking this seriously. "Think your boyfriend is cheating on you, and need me to find proof?"

The girl's cheeks turned a light pink just as Ran stomped on her father's foot.

Ignoring the yelp of pain from the sorry excuse for a detective, Conan decided to get start the meeting since it seemed that Mouri was not taking things seriously. Most likely because of the girl's age.

"What is it Nee-chan?" He asked, peering up at the teen, through his oversized glasses. "Uncle Mouri will help you! Don't worry!"

The girl smiled at him, apparently calmed by his silly comforting. Conan still found it rather marveling just how much influence little kids could have over an adult's emotions without even really trying. Just say something childishly innocent and, bam, the entire atmosphere lightened.

"Um, my name is Nakamori Aoko," the girl said, bowing slightly. "I'm here because, well, I need you to guard my friend."

"I'm not a bodyguard," Mouri interrupted, taking out a cigarette. "Go get the police for that."

Nakamori furiously shook her head. "No! I—not the police. I just—I need you to follow my friend around and make sure he's…okay."

Mouri who had looked up at the violent protest, frowned. "So you do want me to find out if he's cheating on you?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Nakamori shouted, standing up, slamming her hands on the table.

Everyone jerked back in surprise. Wow…that had almost been as scary as Ran.

The girl's face turned bright red as she realized what she had just done. She immediately sat back down and started fiddling with her bag. "I—I apologize for my rudeness."

"It's okay," Ran said, trying to laugh it off as to not further embarrass the girl. "My dad was asking for it anyway."

Her father snorted, and lighted his cigarette. "Ungrateful brats," he muttered. Conan wasn't really sure exactly who he was talking about. "So, who's this you want me to shadow anyway?

"Oh, he's my childhood friend," Nakamori said, digging through her bag. "I've got a picture of him here. His name is Kuorboa Kaito."

Conan frowned slightly when he heard the name. Kuroboa…he was sure he'd heard the name before.

"Here it is," the girl said, interrupting his thoughts. She pulled out a small photograph, taken by one of those instant Polaroid cameras. She held it out to Mouri, face up. "I—"

"Shinichi!" Ran shouted, snatching the photograph from the girl's startled hands. "Why do you have a picture of Shinichi?! Do you know where he is?!"

"Oh, ah, what?" Nakamori replied, backing away slightly. Her fingers curled as though trying to clench around something.

Conan mentally groaned. Oh no, not another one. Just what he needed, another girl pretending to be his girlfriend. Forget returning to his real body, he'd be safer spending the rest of his days as an elementary school runt.

He watched warily, safely out of the way, as Ran practically shot daggers of fire at the poor bewildered girl. "Where. Is. He."

"What are you talking about?" Nakamori asked, clenching her hands again. As Conan slowly back away, he wondered if perhaps the girl fenced, or practiced kendo. "I don't know who Shinichi is."

"Him!" Ran shoved the picture at the girl who leaned further back.

"That's my friend, Kuroba Kaito." She replied, reaching for the picture. Her hand froze in its tracks as Ran's glare practically dared her to try it. Conan quietly made his way behind Nakamori for a clearer view of the picture.

"Don't lie for him!" Ran snapped. "I—"

"That's not Shinichi Nii-san." Conan piped up from the client's side, using the chair as a boost to help him see the picture.

"What are you talking about?" Ran said, shifting her glare on him, as though daring him to just go ahead and make an excuse for his "cousin".

Conan gulped, but continued. "Look his hair is different." He said, pointing it out on the photo. "It's too messy. And his eyes are all wrong."

And he was, of course, correct, as Ran discovered upon looking that the photo again. The boy's hair was much messier than her friend had ever let it be; just how many times had they nearly been late to school because Shinichi had spent too much time on his hair? And his eyes, she saw now, were not at all like Shinchi's either. The boy in the photo looked remarkably like her absent friend, but it wasn't him. A blush began to creep up her cheeks. Boy, did she feel stupid now.

"I—I'm sorry," She mumbled, face bright red as she put the photo neatly on the table and sat back down. "I just thought—he's been missing for a while—and I just…"

"It's okay," Nakamori said as Ran stammered to a halt. "I'd probably react the same way, if it were my friend."

She smiled at the embarrassed teen who smiled gratefully back. Instant bonding due to having grown up dealing with troubled, idiotic boys.

Conan rolled his eyes. And yet another reason why he would never understand girls.

Mouri sneezed loudly, directing all attention unwittingly back upon him. Ever since Nakamori had taken out the photo, he had done his best to just melt into the background as to not get drawn into the fight. He had done fine, up until the time that he sneezed.

"So, uh, why do you need me to follow him?" the man asked trying to behave professionally.

Nakamori started to fidget again. Conan stared intently at her. Again, she was behaving like the sole witness of a crime.

"He's been behaving really…odd lately." Nakamori said, staring at the table in front of her. "Always vanishing without explanation, keeping secrets…"

Mouri started to say something here, no doubt some remark about the boy cheating on her, but was stopped by a well placed stomp from Ran.

The girl continued, unaware of the near interruption. "…and injuries he can't explain." She took a breath. "Like a bullet wound. Someone shot him. And almost killed him."

Ran gasped in surprise, Mouri seemed equally startled. No doubt neither of them had expecting something like this.

Conan's eyes narrowed as he analyzed everything that Nakamori had said. There was very little reason for a highschooler to be target of someone's, much less shot at. There was something missing here. Something the girl herself was probably unaware of.

"Why would someone shoot at him?" he asked, forgetting for a moment that he was no longer a teenage detective. The fist to his head reminded him of that soon enough.

"Idiot, don't be so insensitive!" Mouri growled out, glaring at the boy.

Conan glared at him through half-lidded eyes as well. Hypocrite.

Aoko watched them silently. She had done the right thing, she told herself as Ran comforted the boy and his newly acquired bump. Kaito was in safe hands now, Kogoro-san would make sure of that. She had absolutely no reason to worry. Her grip on her bag tightened. No reason at all.

Right?

**CURTAIN CHAPTER 2**

_**Wrong Aoko, be afraid. Be very afraid. XP **_

_**Review please and tell me what you thought?**_


End file.
